Railway signal torpedo



F. DUTCHER RAILWAY SIGNAL TOR E EDO Filed July 25, 1992?] gwuwntoz Patented Dec. 2, 1924.,

UNITE STATEfi PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK BUTCHER, OF VERSAILLES, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR T CENTRAL RAIL- WAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,-A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY SIGNAL TORPEDO.

Application filed July 23, 1923.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK DUTGHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Versailles, in the county of Allegheny and .State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Signal Torpedoes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in railway signal torpedoes and more particu larly to a form of clip applied to the torpedo case.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel form of clip for use with a railway signal torpedo.

Another object of my invention is to provide a clip for use with a railway signal torpedo which is so constructed that the entire clip is in a plane below the line of the explosion of the torpedo, whereby when the torpedo is exploded the clip remains intact.

Another and further object of my invention is to provide a railway signal torpedo so constructed that when the torpedo is exploded there are no flying fragments of the torpedo clip to cause injury to anyone in the line of the explosion.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a metal clip for use with railway signal torpedoes which is adapted tobe carried in its entirety below the torpedo explosive.

Other objects and improved results of my novel torpedo will appear in the following description and accompanying drawings In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railway signal torpedo embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the torpedo shown in Figure 1 and has applied thereto my improved metal clip.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on a line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a bottom view of a modified form of my improved clip.

Referring now to the drawings in which like parts are designated through-out the description by similar reference numerals, 5 indicates a torpedo case which is preferably composed of a fibrous material and in the finished torpedo this material is coated with any well-known water-proofing composition Serial No. 653,165.

to protect the explosive 6, which may be I the particular torpedo case shown in the drawings.

My improved clip is designated by the numeral 9 and is preferably composed of metal for the purpose of adding rigidity to the torpedo. The clip has a flat bottom portion 10 which is of a configuration similar to that of the bottom of the torpedo case. The bottom 10 of the clip is providedwith extending ends which are bent back upon the bottom so that a portion 11 lies in an approlximately horizontal plane with the main clip portion while the extreme end portion 12 extends outwardly and downwardly at an angle to the clip bottom to provide a space between the clip portions 11 and 12.

In assembling the clip upon the torpedo case the bottom 10 of the clip is placed upon bottom 13 of the case and the ends 7 of the case are folded inwardly and upwardly to rest upon the inwardly bent portion 11 of the clip in the space between this clip portion and the clip portion 12. With the ends 7 of the case in this position the clip portions 12 are clamped downwardly upon the inwardly folded ends of the case to hold them securely in place. It will be seen by examination of Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings that this manner of closing and clamping the ends of the torpedo case results in a watertight closure.

To insure that the inwardly folded ends 7 of the case 5 do not become displaced or slip I have provided the portion 12' of the clip with a series of inwardly struck portions or projections 14 which will penetrate portions 7 of the case as at 15 and thus prevent any. chance of the case ends becoming unfastened.

The rail-engaging member 16 is provided for fastening the torpedo to the railhead of a track. This rail-engaging member is preferably carried by the clip by being threaded through the openings 1'? in the clip bottom 10. This form of rail-engaging member is known in the art as spring clip and is adapted to fit a rail of any weight. I have previously protected this specific form of this rail-engaging member by Letters Patent and a specific description of the spring is given in my Patent No. 1 3035 dated May 13, 1919.

The rail-engaging member 16 is provided at its top with two separate U-sbapc bends 18 which protrude downwardly through the openings 17 of the clip. These projections hold the rail-engaging member in position upon the clip by engaging the end walls of the clip openings and additionally they cause the rail-engaging member to break away from the rail when the torpedo is struck and passed over by the wheels of the locomotive.

The breaking away of the rail-engaging member prevents the flying of this member when the explosion takes place.

The clip shown in Figure 4 is precisely the same as the clip shown and described in the other figures of the drawings with the exception that I have not provided the clip portion 12 with the inward projections 14. It is believed that these projections could be eliminated and the clip still function satisfactorily in clamping the ends of the torpedo case.

It will also be readily understood that it is not necessary or essential that the particular form of rail-engaging member shown and described be used. A rail-engaging member composed of a lead strap which is well known in the art, could be used with my torpedo without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Here-to-fore it has been the practice when applying a clip to a railway signal torpedo to crimp or clamp the clip on the upper side of the torpedo case and this form of clip'is shown in my Patent No. 1,803,640 heretofore mentioned.

The Bureau of Safe Transportation of Explosives has recently issued a new specification requiring that no metal in railway signal torpedoes should be above the line of explosive. From the foregoing description it will be readily apparent that I have provided a torpedo in which none of the metal is above the line of explosive and furthermore I have provided a clip which when applied to the torpedo is so constructed as to function in a manner to readily allow the ends of the torpedo case to blow open when the explosion takes place. It will be readily seen that when the explosion occurs there will be no flying fragments of metal from either the clip or the rail-engaging member to cause injury to any person or persons who may chance to be present at the time of the explosion.

l have also provided a railway signal torpedo which is cheap of manufacture, successful in operation and one which is additionally within the specifications required by the Bureau of Safe Transportation of Explosives.

llo particular description of the explosive used in the torpedo has been given other than to state that it may be in either plastic or powdered form, whichever may be most desirable for the particular use to which the torpedo is tobe subjected. It may be desirable to have the explosives cause a flashlight, a pungent odor, or a smoke in addition to the usual noise. The idea of incorporating these features in an explosive is not new and could, therefore be readily utilized in my torpedo by the simple expedient of applying the known art to a particular use.

It is sometimes desirable to cause the torpedo to make a flashlight so as to attract attention at night in case the noise of the explosion is not heard. The pungent odor is useful both for day and night work as the particular scent of the torpedo could be recognized at either time and in some cases might be detected when the explosion could not be heard. Causing the torpedo to make considerable smoke is an attribute particularly intended for discernment when the torpedo is being used in daylight as the smoke will attract the attention of the eugineer even though he might not hear the explosion of the torpedo.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to protect and claim by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a torpedo case having extended ends, of a clip extending longitudinally of the casevand located under the case, said clip having channels with open outer ends, and the said extended ends doubled under and embraced by the said channels. I

2. The combination with a torpedo case having extended ends, of a clip applied to its bottom and extending longitudinally of the case, said clip having its ends doubled backward and then forward under the torpedo case forming open channels adapted to receive and clamp the ends of the case.

3. The combination with a torpedo case having extended ends. of a clip applied to its bottom. said clip having channels with open outer ends adapted to embrace and clamp the downwardly turned ends of the case for the purpose described.

4. A. clip for use with railway signal torpedoes or the like. comprising a body por tion having extending ends adapted to be folded backwardly upon the main body por- Ill] tion to form an approximately U shaped channel, one leg of the U being in a plane horizontal with the main body portion, the other leg of the U extending outwardly and downwardly from the main body portion and the outwardly extending leg of the U adapted to be clamped downwardly upon the horizontal leg for the purpose described.

5. A clip for use with railway signal torpedoes or the like, comprising a main body portion having extending ends bent backwardly upon the main body portion to form approximately U shaped channels at the opposite ends of the clip, said U shaped channels adapted to receive and clamp the ends of a torpedo case, for the purpose described.

6. A railway signal torpedo, comprising a case having extending ends bent downwardly and upwardly beneath the case bottom, a clip carried by said case between its bottom and inwardly folded ends, said clip being provided on its bottom with approximately U shaped channels extending throughout the length of its opposite ends, said channels adapted to receive and clamp the inwardly folded end portions of the case, and a rail-engaging member carried by the clip, for the purpose described.

7. A clip of use with railway signal torpedoes or the like, comprising a body portion having extending ends doubled backwardly upon the clip to form approximately U shaped channels at the opposite ends thereof, said channels adapted to receive and clamp the ends of the torpedo case, and

one wall of said channels being provided with a series of inwardly extending projections for the purpose described.

8. A railway signal torpedo comprising a case having extending ends bent downwardly and inwardly beneath the case bottom, a clip for the torpedo carried by said case between its bottom and inwardly folded ends, said clip being provided on its bottom with channels extending throughout the length of its opposite ends, said channels adapted to receive and clamp the inwardly folded end portions of the case, and a railengaging member carried by the clip, for the purpose described.

9. A clip for use with a railway signal torpedo or the like, comprising a body portion having extending ends doubled backwardly upon the clip to form channels at the opposite ends thereof, said channels adapted to receive and clamp the ends of the torpedo case, and one wall of said channels being provided with a series of inwardly extending projections, for the purpose described.

1.0. A clip for use with railway signal torpedoes or the like, having channels in the clip ends, the channels adapted to receive and clamp the ends of the torpedo case, and one wall of the channels provided with inwardly extending projections, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

FRANK BUTCHER. 

